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O. F. PALMER.

MACHINE 0B MAKiNG METALLIC CONDUITS.

rmcnmu min ms. 20, 1911.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

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Q mill- E III HI- 5 WITNESSES zz cf 0? ATTORNEY O.-F. PALMER.

MACHINE FOR MAKmG METALLIC CONDUITS.

APPLNATJQN FILED FEB. 20, IQH.

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wrmjzss 0. F. PALMER. MACHINE FOR MAKING METALLIC CONDUITS. V APPLICATION FILED ms. 20. 1911. '1 1,334,787. Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

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'TNVENTOR 0270 F PZZZZZZ6I" ATTORNEY UNITED F ifjifiES PATEN T OFFICE.

OTTO minor PALMER or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO v. c. GILPIN AND ONE-HALF TO J. c. MGAULIFFE, BOTH or BnooKL-YN, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR MAKING METALLIC CONDUITSL Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 23, 1920.

l Application filed February 20,1317. Serial No. 149,883.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Orro F. PALMER, t

citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented new and use- Making. Metallic Conduits of which the following ful Improvements in Machines for is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for making metallic coo iiS for ele tric wires, cables and the i" on. conduit being of a type which cons" f 1m metallic strip which i l Ci spire ii coiled to pron the Wires du-ce or cable contained icreiu 7 One object of theinvention is to produce a simple, improved and effective machine whereby a strip of metal may by a single operation be shaped or pressed to the desired contour and spirally coiled to produce a tubendable Fig. 12 is a view in side elevation on a ing ofan armored electric conductor.

A further object of the invention is to produce a simple and improved construction whereby the metallic strip may be coiled more or tightly: as may be considered desirable or necessary.

Further objects of the invention are to simplify and improve the goneralconstruction and asscn'iblage of the detailed parts of the machine.

With these and other endsin view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood. the same con-- sists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will he hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out inthe claims.

In the accompanying drawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the lDVQIItlOILdt being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural det LllS therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifica tions within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a. sectional elevation of a ma chine constructed in"accordance with the invention. l

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line el-4- in Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional detail view taken on the line 5-5 in wFig. 4.

F i 6 is a perspective detail view showing tic. tapered end of the tubular mandrel and the cam associated therewith.

Fig. 7 is a detail view in elevation, partly in section of the forming or shaping rolls.

Fig. 8 is a detail view in side elevation of the rolls and the frame wherein they are mounted.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of said frame and rolls taken on the line 9 9 in Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 is a sectional detail view taken on theillne 1010 in Fig. 9.

Fig 11 is asectional detail view taken on theline 11-11 inLFig. 5.

enlarged taken much enlarged scale of the tubular product as it issues from the machine, showing also a porintermediate the prights 16 a loose or idle band wheel 20 and a fixed band wheel 21, said band wheels being located closely adjaccnt to each other to receive power from. any convenient source through the medium of a, belt 22 which may be shifted from the loose to the fixed pulley for the pur ose of interrupting the motion when desire The belt sh1fter23 which is guided on brackets 24 may be actuated by a shipping lever 25. Supported on the tubular shaft 18 adjacent to one end thereof and connected with said shaft by meansof a key or spline 26 for rotation therewith is a hub 27 .having a diametrical arm 28. Supported forrotation on the hub 27 is a reel or feed drum 29 having end disks or .fianges 30 between which a quantity of material in-the nature of a methe machine. The bore of the reel or drum being preferably '29 snugly engages the hub 27 so that while free to rotate thereon there will still be a degree of frictional engagement between the two which will prevent the reel from spinning unduly around its axis which would result in rematurely uncoiling the materialwdund t ereon. 1 As a further precaution against the undue rotation of the feed drum or'reel there is provided a brake shoe 31, the same being mounted on the shipping lever 25 in such a position that when the shipping lever is actuated to transferthe band 22 from the fixed pulley 21 tothe dle pulley 20, the said brake" shoe will fllCtIOll: ally engage one of theend disks 30 of the reel 29,- thereby checking the tendency of said reel to continue rotation when the op--..

eration of the machine is interru ted. Extending longitudinally through tie tubular shaft 18 is a tubular mandrel 32, thesame spaced from the interior surface of the tubular shaft by means of bearing sleeves 33. The tubular mandrel 32 has a'tap erin g or conical end portion 3% which normally, Jrojects beyond the face of the". arm 28 Of'lllfl hub 27, said aim being provided with a sleeve 35 having a flange 36 which issecured thereon by fastening members such as bolts 37, said sleeve being of a diameter exceeding that of the tubular mandrel 32 the tapering end, portion of; which projects through and beyond said sleeve. Fixed on one of the uprights 16 of the frame structure is a bral e.3-8;on whichis .fulcrumed a lever 39 withi one'arm of which is pivotally connectedjiidsleeve or collar 40 that surrounds the tubular mandreland is connected therewith by .a set screw 41. The tubular mandrel 32 is-thereby'held securely against rotation but in such a fashion that it may be moved longitudinally with respect to the bearin sleeves 33. To effect such, adjustment of t e tubular mandrel the other arm of the lever 39 is pivotally connected with oneend'of a threaded rod -12 the other end of which'extends through an apertxired lug 43 whem i'it is held. by-means of adjusting nuts 44 by the manipulation of which the lever .39 ma be rocked about the axis of its fulcrum, t erebyl fgfi'ecting longitudinal movement of the tubular mandrel as will be readily under- .stood.

Supported on the diametrical arm 28 of the hub 27' near one end there'of'is a guide element consistln 'and fixed on Sen .dJametr'ical a'rm intermeof a grooved pulley 45,

diate the other end thereof and .the axis of the hub is a frame structure 46 which has been illustrated in detail in Figs. 8, 9 and 10' by reference to which it will be seen that said frame-structure has a stationary bearing 47 and a movable beari'nt 48 which latter may be actuated in the direction of the stationary bearing by meansof a set screw nin' 'of the operation the set screw 49 will. be oosened to facilitate the insertion of the trip S between the rolls 52 and53, the set insure the necessary degree of compression after-which a air of tongs may be utilized to draw the strip from between the rolls and .to lay the same about the apertured end of the tubularm'andrel where it may be held or fastened'in any convenient manner until a proper start of the machine has been attained'n q 'lhes'e details, ho'weyer, are obviouslyk'i ize'll known to workers-in the art under w'hih the resent invention classifies.

F ixed in the s eei'e 35 by means of a set screw 57 or in any other. convenient manner is a-cutf 58 which'surrounds the .protruding end ortion Oftllfi tubular mandrel 32 and constitutes an auxiliary bearing for the same. Formed on theface of the cuff 58 is a spiral cam 59, best seen in Fig. 6, and

the oflice of which is to pushfrom the tubularv mandrel the coiled fabric that is being "laidfiibout or formed lipon said mandrel.

As fiwillbe seen byfreference to Fig. 5 the beveled or conical end portion of the tubular mandrel may": h emade to protrude beyond the cam rhetlriberbfil sufliciently to permit several coils for plhirls of the shapeds-trip 54'to belaid t hgihfitrbefore the outermost whirl is pushed (from the mandrel by the action of the camimember. On the other crew being afterward tightened so as to hand, by retracting thetubular mandrel to somegeggtent, it ma be so adjusted as. to

permitonl a, sin e whirl or less than a single whi'r to be laid thereon. The purpose of such adjustment of the tubular mandrel ,willpresentlybe made apparent.

In addition to the grooved guide pulley 45., one or more additional guide members may be suitably mounted on the arm 28 for the purpose of guiding the strip S to the.

'frame containing the. shaping rolls. In

Figs. 3 and 4 one such auxiliary guide ele ment has been shown at 60. Mounted on the hub 27 and spaced therefrom by'supportingrods or elements 61' is a frame 62,, the same.

being shown as consisting of a diskhaving 1 l v '3 are slidably fitted, said bearing memberst radial slots 63 in which bearing members 64 being adjustable by set screws 65. The bear;

ing members 64 support the compactingi or compressing rolls 66- which are'disposed circumferentially with respect to the tubular conduit issuing from the machine and in upon a sigmoidal strip 54, the relative rangement of said compacting rolls being best seen in Figs. 11 and 12.

(3T designates an insulated wire orcabie which may be led from any convenient source of supply through the tubular mandrel, so that the flexible tube formed or constructed by the machine will be laid about said cable which latter will then constitute a part of the finished product. The use of V this feature of the invention is. however, optional since an electrical conductor of any kind may be inserted into the flexible tube after the formation thereof.

The finished product of the machine is wound on a reel 68 which is supported for rotation in a bearing 6.). said reel being driven by a belt transmission T0 from a pulley 71 which receives motion from the tubular shaft 18 by means including a belt transmission 72, a countershatt 73 and a worm 74, it being. however, understood that any other convenient and well known driving means for the reel 68 may be substituted. 4

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood. When the machine is in operation. the strip S is guided from the reel 29 over the guide -elements 45 and (ill to the shaping rolls, which are carried by the frame structure 46 mounted on the diametrical arm of the rotary hub 27. The shaped strip is laid or coiied in spiral form about the tubular mandrel and consequently also about the cable fed through said mandrel. it the tubular mandrel is projected to a considerable ex-.

tent. the coils of the shaped strip will he laid about a portion of said mandrel which is of relatively large diameter .whereas. it the mandrel is retracted. the coils will he formed about the tapered portion oi said mandrel which is of relatively small diameter. the finished coil, being pushed from the mandrel by the action oi the cam element 5.). The coils of the shapedstrip are next subjected to the action of the compacting rolls whereby they are pressed to-' gether in close relation as clearly seen in Fig. 13. the finished product being wound on the reel ()8 as it is being discharged from the machine. Guide elements. as indicated at 75. may he obviously provided to guide the finished product to the reel.

From the .foregoing description it will be seen that mechanism has been provided for producing a helical metallic armor or conduit for cables, wires and the like. the successive elements of said armor or conduit. as formed by the continuous strip of material, being laid in overlapping,

4 i break joint relation, said mechanismen hodying, essentially, feeding [means con sisting of supply and crimping elements, of which the latter describesan orbital path in reference to a. mandrel having a graduatcd diameter, reduced toward its releasing teri'ninal, means forprogressively advancing the coils in a direction axially of the mandrel to displace the same successively therefrom. and means, preferably operating 75 beyond the extremity of the mandrel for compressing and radially condensing the coils progressively. the shifting element by which the axial advance movement of the coils is effected, and which in the con- 30 struction illustrated consists of a cam which 'occupies'a fixed relation to the feeding means. serving an axial condensing element to insure the proper relation of the successive coils or layers of the strip as 35 they are laid on the mandrel, in addition to said function of advancing the formed coils to efiect a disen agement of the'latter from the terminal 0% the mandrel.

liaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A mechanism for the purpose described having a'mandrel provided with a tapered graduated active surface and adapted for axial adjustment. means for securing said mandrel in adjusted positions, feeding means for a strip of coil forming material including a spool disposed axially with reference to said mandrel and a crimpmg element carried by the spool for descri ing an orbital path about the mandrel, a cam disposed concentrically with the mandrel and in a fixed position with relation to the said crimping element for progressively advancing the coils on the mandrel in a direction axially thereof, and radially compressing and condensing rolls in axial parallelism with the mandrel for pro ressive contact with the coils after leaving 1; a mandrel.

A mechanism for th purpose d c ib d 3 including a mandrel provided with a 5 tapered graduated active surface, feedin means for a strip of coil-formin materia H including a spool disposed axially with reference to said mandrel and crim 3 ing means carried by the spool for descri ing an orbital path about the mandrel, a cam disposed concentrically with the mandrel and in a fixed position with relation to the said crimping means for pro ressively advancing the coilson the mandrel .in a direction axially thereof and radially oompressing and condensing rolls in axial parallelism with the mandrel for progressive contact with the coils after leaving the mandrel.

In an organized mechanism fprtho purpose described. the combination iof I1 tubular mandrel provided with a-tapered said. end portion loosely, surrounding the mandrel back end portion, a'tnbular shaft revolnble about ,said-mandrel, a reel surroundmg and revolublewith said tubular shaft, a hub surroundin thetubular shaft for rotation therewit i and interposed between the shaft and the reel and having a diametrieal portion in front of the reeh guide means on said diametrical portion, crimping means 4. In an organized mechanism 7 for the Purpose described, th

e combination of a tuul ar mandrel provided with a tapered end fgiortion, a tubular shaft revoluble about tubular shaft and said mandrel, a reel surrounding and revoluble with said tubu'iar shaft, a hub surrounding the tubiilar shaft for rotation therewith and interposed between the shaft and the reel and having a diametrical portion in front of the reehguide means on said diametrioal portion, crimping means on the diametrioal portion to describe an orbital ath about the mandrel. a cam fixed with re spect. to the tubular shaft and loosely.s\11'- rounding the mandrel back of said end portion thereof to progressively adrancethe (oils on the mandrel in a direction axially thereof, and radially compressing and condensing means in axial parallelism with the mandrel for progressire cont-art with the roils after leaving the mandrel.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

OTTO FRITIOF PALMER. 

